This large abandoned fly wheel rests near a mine head in the ghost town of Bodie, CA. From the first time I photographed it many years ago I have wanted to take this image with the star trails. I finally had the opportunity to create it when I led a photo workshop in Bodie last June. As part of the workshop I had students set up a star trail shot before dusk with a delayed start. We then went off to take Milky Way images around the rest of the town. On the way back to the vehicles we did some light painting on the flywheel and then packed up our gear.
Type of Critique Requested
- Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
- Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
- Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
- Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
The axle of the flywheel conveniently points almost due north. I decided to set my camera to the side hoping a diagonal composition would make the image more dynamic. The challenge was composing the image before the stars came out.
Technical Details
Canon 5DIV with Sigma14mm f1.8 lens.
ISO 200, f5.6
36 - 2 minute exposures blended in Photoshop.